A cranberry morpheme is a part of a word whose meaning is long lost. What is the 'cran' that gives us 'cranberries?' This blog is about the mysteries of language. The lost and forgotten odds and ends. These are my cranberry letters from me to you.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Indo-European metalheads

Bits and pieces of Proto-Indo-European metallurgy can be reconstructed. Because metal was often mined and smelted in very localized areas, the names tend to be highly regionalized. Oddly enough, I know of no particular treatment of PIE metalwork; rather, studies of metallurgy must be gleaned piecemeal as parts of larger works.

The word for "metal" was *h2ei-es-, according to Mallory & Adams, or *h2éios, via Beekes. No matter which reconstruction you prefer, the word was responsible for a number of 'metal,' 'copper,' 'iron,' and 'ore' reflexes.

Outside of the word for "metal" itself, we find that metal words are based upon the colors yellow, white, and red.

Much has been written and much more remains to be said about ancient metalcraft. Few knew that the PIE metal-system was based on colors. We could suppose that perhaps other metals and materials were based on colors as well, but that requires more research for another blog post.

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My name is Patrick. I write and I read. I drink coffee. I prefer pants that are too slim to pants that are too baggy. Sometimes I draw stuff. I love languages with a passion that some people have likened to Asperger's.